CHINA CALLS ON TAIWAN TO HOLD REUNIFICATION TALKS

China urged Taiwan on Thursday to face reality and submit to holding talks on an eventual reunification with China after comments from President Clinton that the United States would not support an independent Taiwan.

Taiwan, meanwhile, announced it had agreed to a visit by a senior Communist negotiator in a bid to prepare for resumption of high-level dialogue between the two rivals, separated by the 100-mile-wide Taiwan Strait.

The developments indicate that after a three-year freeze, talks could begin this fall between the two sides. They also underscore the important role the United States has played in forcing Taiwan to the bargaining table.

Clinton's statement, during his nine-day trip to China, was taken as a significant defeat in Taiwan even though U.S. officials said it was simply a reiteration of U.S. policy.

Clinton's remarks of June 30 in Shanghai made clear the United States would not support any independence bid by the island of 21 million people, nor would it support a policy backing "one China, one Taiwan" or "two Chinas."

Clinton said the United States opposed Taiwan's bid to enter international bodies that accept only sovereign states as members.

Chinese officials have said they plan to use such remarks as a lever to force Taiwan into political talks on reunification. Taiwanese officials say they want to limit any new talks to specific issues such as immigration, cross-border crime, fishing rights and protection of investments. China rejects this limited approach and insists a broader discussion of reunification is necessary for improved ties.

Taiwan and China have been separated since 1895, when Japan occupied the island after its victory over China in the Sino-Japanese War. In 1949, Nationalist Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek fled to Taiwan after his forces lost a civil war to the Chinese communists. Since then, the two sides have moved further away from each other _ in both economic and political development.

In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Tang Guoqiang said Clinton's statement had "positive implications for the resolution of the Taiwan question."

"We hope that Taiwan authorities will get a clear understanding of the situation, face reality and place importance on the national interest," Tang said.

In Taiwan, the semi-official Straits Exchange Foundation in Taipei sent a letter saying the Chinese association's deputy secretary general, Li Yafei, could visit Taiwan July 24-31. Li's visit is to pave the way for the leader of the Taiwan foundation, Koo Chen-fu, to visit China.